Martin Ødegaard: El Capitanø Incognito

[dashsnow17]

Has his flaws but he’s been the best 10 in the league not named KdB since he’s been in the league tbh.

Another one I used to get assasulted on here for rating, funny how time always settles these debates eventually.

I swear he’s always been rated no? It’s just he’s so annoying on the pitch so everyone hates him.

 

[GoonerJay24]

I

They mesh well to make us solid. Zubi positioning, rice pace and Ødegaard recycling the ball. But it doesnt make us creative. Zubi needs Rice pace and physicality to help him out, Rice needs Zubi and Ødegaard to distribute the ball and Ødegaard needs them when he gets run through.

Can use them to close out games but not to attack and create. Rice kills all ball progression on the left. Zubi is too far back. Ødegaard is unable to beat a man and run forward.

But when Zubi and Ødegaard are paired with Merino instead of Rice; the cohesive passing through the middle is back. We looked much more fluid in those matches

 

[merciarsene]

But when Zubi and Ødegaard are paired with Merino instead of Rice; the cohesive passing through the middle is back. We looked much more fluid in those matches

yes but you miss out on rice recovery pace, which is an added insurance.

 

[RunTheTrap]

But when Zubi and Ødegaard are paired with Merino instead of Rice; the cohesive passing through the middle is back. We looked much more fluid in those matches

What matches?

 

[RunTheTrap]

Hes the best 10 in the league he had just been wasted by Amorim.

Bruno is the best of a bad bunch. People harp on about football falling off, and while I disagree, I'm not going to pretend that attacking midfielders aren't what they used to be.

 

[Red London]

Would love to see Rice played at RCM so he can overlap and even underlap Saka, especially when Timber is at RB. It would help him. Rice on his strong side would unlock a new level as we get access to his running power more offensively + his ball striking (shots and crosses).

Would also mean we play Eze in an area he is comfortable in, left sided pocket.

 

[Sanchez11]

Would love to see Rice played at RCM so he can overlap and even underlap Saka, especially when Timber is at RB. It would help him. Rice on his strong side would unlock a new level as we get access to his running power more offensively + his ball striking (shots and crosses).

Would also mean we play Eze in an area he is comfortable in, left sided pocket.

This is whay i have been saying, will Arteta see the light?

 

[Mrs Bergkamp]

Mu

I

They mesh well to make us solid. Zubi positioning, rice pace and Ødegaard recycling the ball. But it doesnt make us creative. Zubi needs Rice pace and physicality to help him out, Rice needs Zubi and Ødegaard to distribute the ball and Ødegaard needs them when he gets run through.

Can use them to close out games but not to attack and create. Rice kills all ball progression on the left. Zubi is too far back. Ødegaard is unable to beat a man and run forward.

Might as well stick MLS in there. It couldn't be any worse and we'd at least have runs from deep and dangerous vertical passes.

 

[merciarsene]

Mu
Might as well stick MLS in there. It couldn't be any worse and we'd at least have runs from deep and dangerous vertical passes.

Mikel is very risk averse. Ethan or Miles or Nørgaard all could be used to shake things up, but he never tries anything new. The one time he did was to sub on Havertz into LCM in the carabao against chelsea, which was a rare unexpected move. Usually everything he does is predictable

 

[RunTheTrap]

This is somehow Rice’s fault. Joking aside, he sums up the Arsenal of old that Arteta has tried so desperately to move away from: slow, weak, doesn't like it up North. How can Arteta make this guy his captain when he is so diametrically opposed to the physical beast he has built? Does it make sense

 

[Legend14]

I criticize Ødegaard's peformances, but he is still a good player, and I do blame some of Ødegaard's performance issues on Arteta and the league going full on 11 behind the ball.

Ødegaard is probably the most fundamentally sound ball handler on the team and yet he struggles at times within the Arteta system to project his strengths. He is just as afraid to make a mistake as everyone else. He tries a penetrating pass, fails, and then quits doing it. He is lacking confidence right now and you can see it in his effort, and effort is one of his strengths.

A faster, more direct, attack minded Arsenal would be beneficial to Ødegaard. If he has space, and movement in front of him, he is dangerous (see Zubi assist). Currently, he is tasked with recycling the ball in the middle third against low blocks. This is just busywork. I would play Eze (and Merino) against a low block to cause chaos. I would then sub in Ødegaard when it opened up to technically finish off the opposition.

 

[Thrice]

It's a shame Gyokeres has been such a flop because otherwise one player I'd like to see in place of Ødegaard would be Havertz in a slightly different role as sort of shadow striker behind Gyokeres.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

I criticize Ødegaard's peformances, but he is still a good player, and I do blame some of Ødegaard's performance issues on Arteta and the league going full on 11 behind the ball.

Ødegaard is probably the most fundamentally sound ball handler on the team and yet he struggles at times within the Arteta system to project his strengths. He is just as afraid to make a mistake as everyone else. He tries a penetrating pass, fails, and then quits doing it. He is lacking confidence right now and you can see it in his effort, and effort is one of his strengths.

A faster, more direct, attack minded Arsenal would be beneficial to Ødegaard. If he has space, and movement in front of him, he is dangerous (see Zubi assist). Currently, he is tasked with recycling the ball in the middle third against low blocks. This is just busywork. I would play Eze (and Merino) against a low block to cause chaos. I would then sub in Ødegaard when it opened up to technically finish off the opposition.

I think a lot of this is true but Im not convinced simply playing Eze fixes much. Eze was in that role for a good while and while he did well it wasn't a major improvement vs those low blocks if I recall. He mostly had flashes of brilliance with otherwise quiet performances. Ode has kind of been the same. But we were overall getting results with both.

The one thing about the team so far this season is the performances and results have largely been pretty consistent regardless of who is playing (e.g. Gyok has struggled but when Merino was in and scoring we weren't winning by larger margins). We are a VERY systematic team and that seems to level everyone out a bit. It's maybe why we struggle to score at times, but it's also why we're so hard to beat.

All that said, I'd like to see Eze play more.

 

[El Duderino]

I think a lot of this is true but Im not convinced simply playing Eze fixes much. Eze was in that role for a good while and while he did well it wasn't a major improvement vs those low blocks if I recall

Sample size is a bit small, there.

Ideally, we'd be playing both of them, either with Rice behind them or with Eze on the wing. At least against low/mid blocks.

 

[BigPoppaPump]

Bruno Fernandes is awful cant believe people are twerking for him in here.

 

[Rain Dance]

I think a lot of this is true but Im not convinced simply playing Eze fixes much. Eze was in that role for a good while and while he did well it wasn't a major improvement vs those low blocks if I recall. He mostly had flashes of brilliance with otherwise quiet performances. Ode has kind of been the same. But we were overall getting results with both.

Nwaneri could also do things against low block

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Nwaneri could also do things against low block

He probably could, yeah. But I really don’t think the solution to low blocks is just down to who plays AM. They are so prevalent because they are incredibly effective and most teams/players struggle to get past them.

No matter who plays AM, they will struggle to pick out players ahead of them when those players arent given room to run. I don’t think anyone in the game has a perfect solution to these things at this point. We’re fortunate that our set pieces can help us tbh.

 

[boonthegoon]

Bruno Fernandes is awful cant believe people are twerking for him in here.

He is awful indeed. He is just a through ball spammer. When utd are ****, like they are now, teams attack them so much that utd have all the space behind for this guy to spam and connect a few of them. The moment they are respected again and teams sit back even he doesn't do anything and in fact keeps losing possession at dangerous situations which result in opponent goals. This cycle has been happening ever since he came here. If at all utd become good now, this effect will just show again.

No wonder that despite utd being **** all this while, no other club other than saudis ever tried to tempt him away.

 

[Rain Dance]

He probably could, yeah. But I really don’t think the solution to low blocks is just down to who plays AM. They are so prevalent because they are incredibly effective and most teams/players struggle to get past them.

low block solution is mainly on the striker (occupying the defenders and pulling them out) and AM (creating cracks in defense)
an AM should either :
a) have an eye for a inch-perfect pass
b) have a dribble skill to force defenders to break positions
c) have a long range accuracy to make defenders hesitates

I am not going to look at other teams AMs, cause Trossard has showed b & c works albeit he isn't playing centrally.

Something about Ødegaard is weird, albeit he has a & c, he seldom try either.
It's almost like he rather pass the ball to Saka (or someone else), and let Saka dictates the final play instead of doing it himself

No matter who plays AM, they will struggle to pick out players ahead of them when those players arent given room to run. I don’t think anyone in the game has a perfect solution to these things at this point. We’re fortunate that our set pieces can help us tbh.

either Gyokeres or Kai helps by holding up play or Merino back up top would be our only options at the moment.
Merino is probably our best bet imo

I wish we got Nick Woltemade but you know how Arsenal fans behave when a static tall number 9 is leading the line

 

[Legend14]

low block solution is mainly on the striker (occupying the defenders and pulling them out) and AM (creating cracks in defense)
an AM should either :
a) have an eye for a inch-perfect pass
b) have a dribble skill to force defenders to break positions
c) have a long range accuracy to make defenders hesitates

I am not going to look at other teams AMs, cause Trossard has showed b & c works albeit he isn't playing centrally.


either Gyokeres or Kai helps by holding up play or Merino back up top would be our only options at the moment.
Merino is probably our best bet imo

I wish we got Nick Woltemade but you know how Arsenal fans behave when a static tall number 9 is leading the line

100 percent on the AM skills needed, especially #2. And yet we do not really play a true AM in Arteta’s system so we spam crosses or rely on corners.